the BEATLES AND BOB DYLAN

In ASSOCIATION WITH HP

APRIL 4^th – JUNE 7^th
Opening night – APRIL 3^rd

As the relentlessly revolutionary decade of the 1960s entered its most potent transformation into an era of psychedelia, free love and unbridled idealism, two of the greatest acts of musical history underwent their own defining periods of change: the post-Sgt Pepper Beatles went to the Maharishi’s ashram in Rishikesh, India; and post-motorcycle accident Dylan was in Woodstock with his family.

The Beatles in India and Dylan in Woodstock, in association with HP, at London's Proud Central Gallery brings together two stunning and largely unseen individual collections of this period for the first time.

Paul Saltzman’s remarkably intimate collection of long-lost photographs, previously unpublished in the UK, chronicles The Beatles time at the ashram in India, during 1968 - a period in the history of the band which is largely undocumented.

The second exhibition on display is an exceptional collection of photographs of the legendary Bob Dylan by renowned photographer Elliott Landy.  Featuring a combination of unseen pictures alongside some of the best known photographs of Dylan, the pictures on display are an intimate glimpse into Dylan’s Life during the period following his near-fatal motor cycle accident in 1966, during which he largely removed himself from the public eye. 

THE BEATLES IN INDIA

Sunburned, unshaven, relaxed and at ease in their surroundings, Saltzman was witness to the most creative period in The Beatles history.  His candid pictures show John, Paul, Ringo and George, four of the most famous people on the planet, away from the stresses of world; resting, laughing, writing transcendent music that went on to change people’s lives – including Paul Saltzman’s.  This is a unique opportunity to see the real men behind one of the greatest bands in the world.

Saltzman met the Beatles in 1968 at the Maharishi’s ashram in Rishikesh, India.  Saltzman had come to the ashram to learn meditation to heal a broken heart, unaware that the Beatles would be there.  After camping outside the gates for over a week he was finally allowed inside.

Saltzman’s photographs artfully present John, Paul, George and Ringo together in complete intimate harmony.  Placed in historical perspective, these images witness the burst of creativity enjoyed at the ashram that would carry them into the recording sessions for The White Album – and the beginning of the end of the Beatles as a group.

Thirty years later, Saltzman rediscovered the timeless images and was moved by what he saw.  Here were the honest and open faces of four young men at their creative zenith, who shared their life at the ashram - for a brief moment in time - with a 24-year-old who had travelled half way around the world to ‘find himself’.  In the foothills of the Himalayas, for a week during 1968, the life of Paul Saltzman crossed with the lives of The Beatles.

“The intimacy of these frames is quite remarkable, some of the best I have seen,” says Stephen Maycock, Sotheby’s Rock ‘n’ Roll specialist. “Saltzman’s photographs will be welcomed by both fans and historians of The Beatles alike, for these images provide a significant addition to the detail of what is a relatively little-recorded episode in the career of the most important rock group the world has known.”

DYLAN IN WOODSTOCK

The second exhibition includes over 50 pictures, some of which have never been seen before, of 1960’s musical icon, Bob Dylan.  Taken by celebrated rock music photographer Elliott Landy, this is a unique opportunity to gain an insight into the inspirational troubadour of American rock music.

Hailed by America’s Life Magazine as one of the 100 most important Americans of the 20^th century, Bob Dylan was credited with embodying the political ethos of a generation.  These unique images, taken in 1968, capture both the musician and the family man.

The exhibition includes several never before seen images that have been rediscovered after 35 years. Originally left behind whilst moving house, two rolls of film, containing images of Dylan with his family, were returned to Landy just a year ago.  They contained images of Dylan that he had long since forgotten about.

destined to cross.  ‘Curiously,’ comments Landy, ‘because our names are anagrams of each other – DYLAN / LANDY – many people thought that I didn’t exist when they saw the photo credit on the Music from the Big Pink album which gave Dylan credit for his painting on the cover and me credit for the photographs.  They thought he had also taken the photographs of The Band, and had used an alias – Landy – which he happened to have used before on a record album.

Following the photographs taken for The Post and having become friends Landy was, in an unparalleled move, invited by Dylan to photograph him, Sara and their children at their Woodstock home, ‘He was hiding from the world, savouring the magical experience of having young children.  That’s why I didn’t publish the pictures for many years. He cherished his privacy and didn’t want any media attention on his family.’

Images on display show Dylan on stage at Carnegie Hall, relaxing at home, playing the guitar and spending time with his wife and children. Landy’s best known photograph of Dylan is one which appeared on the Nashville Skyline album.  Some of his photographs of The Band, including the ones for Music From the Big Pink and The Band’s albums will also be included in this exhibition.  At the time, The Band, were working with Dylan and their image and his are deeply intertwined during this period.

HP has helped to recapture the sensational collection of photographs of The Beatles and Bob Dylan. Visitors to the exhibition can enjoy images of the rock music icons, now being exposed thanks to hp digital imaging and printing technologies. The images have been scanned and printed using hp printers and hp media. HP was honoured to provide support for this exciting exhibition and demonstrate its commitment to the imaging and printing space. Today, hp with its unmatched portfolio of hardware, software and services leads the IT market in Europe.  

‘We are really excited to be able to present an exhibition of two such legendary musical acts,’ comments Alex Proud of Proud Galleries, ‘The Beatles and Bob Dylan have both changed the world with their music and this exhibition serves as a tribute to their impact.’

ENDS

Paul Saltzman

Paul Saltzman is a two-time Emmy Award winning Toronto-based film and television producer-director known for over 300 productions.

After briefly studying Engineering Science, he did congressional civil rights lobbying in Washington, D.C. and voter registration work in Mississippi. He began his film and television career in 1965 at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a researcher, interviewer and on-air host, then moved to the National Film Board of Canada. In 1969 he assisted in the birth of a new film format as second unit director and production manager of the first IMAX film, commissioned for the Osaka 1970 World's Fair.

In 1973 Paul founded Sunrise Films Limited, and produced and directed documentaries for the next decade, including the acclaimed series Spread Your Wings. His work included writing, editing, cinematography and sound recording. In 1983, he turned to drama, producing and directing the premier of HBO's Family Playhouse and a special for American Playhouse. In the same year, he co-created and produced the family action-adventure television series Danger Bay. The hit CBC-Disney Channel series ran for 123 episodes before moving into re-runs.

Since then he has produced television series like My Secret Identity, Matrix and Max Glick, as well as miniseries and movies of the week. He co-produced the feature film Map of the Human Heart, an international epic directed by Vincent Ward and starring Jason Scott Lee, Anne Parillaud, Patrick Bergin and John Cusack: and executive produced Martha, Ruth & Edie as well as Sam & Me, which received an Honourable Mention in competition for the Camera d'or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Paul recently released his first book, The Beatles in Rishikesh, through Viking Studio, Penguin Putnam, and is currently developing several feature film scripts as well as having optioned the film, video and related CD-rom rights to the Vatican Library. Paul is a member of the Director's Guild of Canada and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. He loves travelling, skydiving and scuba diving, and plays ice hockey several times a week. He has one daughter.

Elliott Landy

Elliott Landy, born in 1942, began photographing the anti-Vietnam war movement and the underground music culture in New York City in 1967.

He photographed many of the underground rock and roll superstars, both backstage and onstage, from 1967 to 69.

His images of Bob Dylan and The Band, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Joan Baez, Van Morrison, Richie Havens, and many others documented the music scene during that classic rock and roll period which culminated with the 1969 Woodstock Festival, of which he was the official photographer.

After that, Elliott moved on to other inspirations and art forms, photographing his own children and travels, creating impressionist flower photographs and doing motion and kaleidoscopic photography in both still and film formats.

His photographs have been published worldwide for many years in all print mediums including covers of Rolling Stone, Life, the Saturday Evening Post, etc. and album covers, calendars, photographic book collections, etc.

He has published Woodstock Vision, The Spirit of A Generation, in book and CD-ROM format, and authored the book Woodstock 69, The First Festival.

He is currently publishing a series of limited edition lithographs of his classic rock photographs, and producing a feature film based on the life of Janis Joplin.

Proud Group

Proud Galleries Group was launched in autumn 1998 by Alex Proud to bring affordable high quality photography to a mainstream market. Based upon a formula of exhibiting accessible shows around popular themes such as music, fashion, film and sport, Proud Galleries instantly took the photography industry by storm. A series of landmark shows including Destroy: The Sex Pistols, Rankin’s Nudes, The Rock n Roll Years, Underexposed, and Rebel Life: Bob Marley attracted blanket media coverage and full-house, star-studded opening nights.   With up to 10,000 paying customers per show, the galleries soon became the most popular private photographic gallery in Europe.

Following increasing demand for extended London runs of shows, as well as for show tours throughout the UK and abroad, Proud Galleries launched a five year expansion programme in 2001 – with the launch of Proud Camden Moss (July 2001). Further launches are planned, including Proud Brighton in late 2002.

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